Area:344 sq. km (133 sq. mi.) including some of the islands of theGrenadines, the largest of which is Carriacou (22.5 sq.mi)

Population:107,400 (2016 est.)

Ethnic Make-Up:85% of African descent, 11% mixed, 1% white, 3% other.

Adult Literacy:96%

Currency:Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$)

Exchange rate:US$1.00 = EC$ 2.70

Time zone:EST +1; GMT -4

Phone code:Regional Code (473) plus local number

History:Although ‘discovered’ by Christopher Columbus in 1498, Grenada was first settled by the French in 1650 thereafter it was ruled alternately by the French and the British until 1783 when it was formally ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Versailles. Subsequently, the British imported large numbers of African slaves to work on the sugar cane plantations.

Grenada gained full Independence in 1974. In March 1979, the Government of Prime Minister Eric M. Gairy was overthrown in a coup led by the head of the left-wing New Jewel Movement, Maurice Bishop. The 1973 Constitution was suspended and a People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG) was formed. This government was overthrown in October 1983 in a violent coup in which Prime Minister Bishop and several other government officials were executed. A sixteen-member military council led by Army Commander Hudson Austin took control of the island. The United States government sent Marine forces into Grenada to stabilize the situation and the Revolutionary Army was ousted.

Governor-General, Sir Paul Scoon, assumed power and reinstated the 1973 Constitution. A nine-member Interim Advisory Council was appointed in November 1983 to serve until elections could be held. Democratic elections were held in December 1984 and every five years since then.